Stalemate

Overlord Arkenardin received reports that more Blood Angels were attempting to remove an ancient power generator from ruins seventy kilometres North West of the site of his successful engagement. Leaving behind the majority of his force to secure his gains he headed there at top speed with elements of the 3005th Assault Corps, calling in the 115th Air Assault squadron to meet him there.

This meant he had three units of immortals under his command, sixteen with blasters and nine with carbines. He took the left, the tesla armed immortals the centre led by a cryptek and the last squad, also cryptek led on the right. The annihilation barge NNV Harsh Decision supported the left and the NNV Courageous the right.

Five destroyers, three of them heavies were held back in cover on the right opposing two Vindicators and the enemy hero Mephiston. Three squads of marines faced our centre, one with the chaplain warlord who had made a remarkable recovery since the last battle.

The enemy attacked at dawn, the central marine squad seizing the artefact immediately. The vindicators separated, rounding the large ruined building that dominated the centre right of the battleground. Mephiston skulked on the right by one of the tanks. The right hand vindicator opened up with its ordnance weaponry on the concealed destroyers, the other vindicator fired on the Courageous, but she was saved by the darkness.

Our return fire from the destroyers and barges was hampered by the darkness too, but our immortals who had all advanced picked off a few marines. The cryptek leading our eastern unit though destroyed the eastern vindicator with his voltaic staff for first blood.

Despite or perhaps because of this setback the enemy now deep struck two units of sanguinary guard with their attendant priests, landing on both sides of our destroyers, one close behind the Courageous. The marines with the relic retreated whilst the other two marine squads pressed forward with a view to assault.

Mephiston assaulted and destroyed our right hand immortals with contemptuous ease and our destroyers took losses from enemy fire. The Courageous was destroyed equally easily though before that happened the enemy vindicator did amusingly take out the sanguinary banner bearer with a wildly inaccurate shot.

The central marines assaulted and destroyed our central immortals despite our lightning field; whilst the western marines were driven back by gauss overwatch fire however. Meanwhile two enemy storm ravens had arrived to bolster the enemy. Our reserves in the shape of the 115th began to arrive, the doom scythe NNV Brutality the first to show. It did very little however and the guard destroyed it with their melta pistols.

Our immortals were wiped out on the western side and with them Arkenardin, but he reanimated with two wounds just as he had in the previous battle. The destroyers also fell to Mephiston and the Harsh Decision exploded under enemy attack.

Fortunately our ground forces had held together just long enough for more of the 115th to arrive: The Night Shroud NNV Titan bombed and largely wiped out the western sanguinary guard and the Night Scythe NNV Audacity landed deathmarks and a cryptek to the west. The marine unit there was wiped out, including the Chaplain warlord with the exception of a luckless sergeant. He assaulted the deathmarks but fell when Arkenardin joined the assault against him. The cryptek of that unit did fall however.

The Doom Scythe NNV Invasive also added to our attack and tesla fire from our fliers inflicted powerful damage against the central marine unit wiping it out; the Vindicator was also destroyed at last. However the enemy fliers now inflicted damage on one flier and shot down the Audacity.

Our final reserves arrived, the Night Scythe NNV Ultimatum dropping its deathmarks in the centre where they targeted and destroyed Mephiston (just) who had been heading west. The Doom Scythe NNV Force Multiplier was last on. Our deathmarks were massacred in the centre by massed aerial bolter fire.

The enemy was now down to just its two hovering fliers in the centre, two squads of sanguinary guard in the centre right, one down to a sole survivor, plus the as yet undamaged marine unit holding the relic. The Night Shroud Titan missed with its bomb attack on the marines its tesla systems, disabled earlier were offline.

The deathmarks to the west gunned down the last sanguinary guard of the western unit but the Invasive was unable to bring its death ray to bear as it overshot the marines. Its destructor and the fully operational weapons of the Force Multiplier wiped out the marines leaving the relic unclaimed. The Ultimatum fired on a storm raven inflicting some damage, but foolishly failed to target the one with just a single hull point remaining.

The battle ended with the enemy still operating two albeit damaged storm ravens and a unit comprising two sanguinary guard and a priest. Estimated enemy losses were 65% with us claiming first blood, the warlord and 8 units including all marines and both vindicators. The enemy warlord was reported as saved but seriously wounded.

Our ten points were matched by the loss of nine units plus the few surviving guards had claimed linebreaker. Our rallied strength was 1007 with Arkenardin wounded and two of our surviving four fliers damaged. Total losses: Just under 60% of the forces committed. The result reflecting then the finely balanced situation in this warzone.